At the time of writing this, New Zealand had just experienced it's fifth day in a row of sitting on matchpoint in the America's Cup. To say the nation's collective nerves are getting a little frayed is an understatement. Hence the bizarre (and hopefully funny) rationalisation above. 

(Of course, refugees seeking asylum is not a laughing matter. Note my recent cartoon on this one for my views on that topic.) 

Meanwhile, it's time to bring the Auld Mug home Team New Zealand! Hopefully nothing will stop your boat in the next race. 

It would be ironic if this cartoon got upvoted on Reddit. Whatever that means. 

I can't think of many culinary practices more repulsive than shark finning. What's just as repulsive is that the practice is not yet banned in New Zealand waters. However, it looks like that's about to change soon, if pressure groups can get the message through to the Government. 

Meanwhile, I love what Wellington street artists BMD have done to draw attention to this issue in their home town. 

A 50m by 6m mural painted at 4.00am in the morning? That puts this cartoon to shame. 

One of the best pieces of cartooning advice I ever received was simply, "Violate a cliche." 

See above! 

There's a reason they call it an "i" phone.

There's something very fishy going on in New Zealand's parliament today ...

TEDx Auckland starts today! That's worth a cartoon.

I decided this week it was about time I got off my butt and made a few life changes, including to what I eat and how active I am. I realised - like Patton Oswalt eloquently says - that "I gotta lose some goddamn weight."

I'm not doing any faddish diets or anything. I'm well aware that these don't work long term. With a bit of guidance, I'm setting out to make some permanent improvements to my food choices and eating habits.

It's been a challenge so far, as the above cartoon attests, but I feels like it's off to a pretty good start. Check in with me in 12 weeks time, however, and we'll see how I'm going.

Change is difficult. But for me it's time to struggle up out of the chair and make one.

It's an election year in Australia, which means the issue of asylum seekers is back front and centre in the rhetoric of the posturing politicians pursuing preferential positioning at the pending polls.

Unlike that tongue-twister, the complex issue of dealing with asylum seekers has been boiled down into one simple statement for those who are vehemently supportive of turning them away that is as dehumanising as it is brief; "Stop the boats."

In spite of - or more likely, because of - the leadership change that has occurred within the Australian Labor Party in the last week, it seems that we're going to hear this phrase and the issue debated even more intensely over the coming months.

Could that statement be any more obnoxious? It conveniently removes the human element from the equation, deliberately sidestepping the fact that there are real people on those boats.

As the election approaches, I'll be listening out for which leaders are keeping that fact in mind. The way we treat the people on those boats will communicate how we believe the whole of humanity should be treated.

Yeah, yeah. Game of Thrones is the biggest TV show on the planet right now, but there's a reason for that.

It's definitely the most impressive TV show I've ever seen; from the locations, the sets, and the acting to the complex, grand arcing story that will be watched for years.

Like The Sopranos was 14 years ago (RIP James Gandolfini) there's no doubt that Game of Thrones is going to be seen as a significant milestone on the history of television.

This cartoon is also a small milestone for me. It's the 100th cartoon I've posted on this site since its launch. In the big scheme of things, that's not many, but it's still a milestone worth celebrating.

Here's to the next 100, 1000 and 10,000 cartoons. (And the next 10 seasons of Game of Thrones!) 

Had a cool time today hanging out and working at the Biz Dojo in Auckland. A very cool, very friendly bunch of creative business people, sharing an office space, interactions, energy and dreams. In other words, a great crucible for cartoon ideas!

The above cartoon was inspired partly by a recent viewing of Jurassic Park, and partly by chatting with the directors of this company. Two young guys, in the early days of their start-up, with a clear vision for making their own little dent in the universe.

It reminded me of this article, which reflects on the story of Chris Hadfield, the 53 year old Canadian astronaut who became an international celebrity thanks to his tweets and communications from space. His key piece of advice? "Don't let life randomly kick you into the adult you don't want to become." 

Biz Dojo felt to me like a room full of people doing just that; that is, taking the reins of their own dreams and creating something new. That feeling - creating something from nothing - is like bringing a T-Rex to life from extinct DNA; it's challenging, thrilling, and just a little bit scary. But if it can be achieved, you have an awesomely cool T-Rex.

To put it simply, there's nothing more awesome to me than human creativity. So get out there and create.

My mum turns 70 today, and this is a little tribute cartoon for her.

As well as being my mum, in her life she's also been a teacher, a counsellor and more recently, an artist developing her talent in mosaic.

It is painstaking work - that I know I would not have the patience for - taking broken pieces of discarded material and making something beautiful out of them.

If anyone knows what it's like to be broken, it's my mum. Several years ago, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. She had lost several members of her own family to breast cancer over the years, so the pain of what it could mean was very real.

However, after a long period of treatment, she recovered from her own cancer. It's why her turning 70 is an extra special reason for our family to celebrate.

So today, I say thanks Alison for all your encouragement over the years, especially for my cartooning. Your own artistic endeavours in mosaic are an inspiration to me, and reflective of your gifts of patience and caring.

Happy birthday mum!

Hmm. I wonder what this cartoon is about. Any ideas?

Generations gaps. They might not be as wide as you think.

Having lived in both Australia and New Zealand for many years each, it has been interesting to see the growing significance of Anzac Day for people in both countries. It seems to be bordering on religious observance these days.

I must admit I've not participated in an Anzac Day dawn service for a very long time. The times I did it was certainly a moving and powerful experience, but I always came away from them with a sense that the Anzac story legend was not really the exalted legend it was so often portrayed as.

A friend of mine has written about this much more eruditely over on her blog, and I commend her comments to you this Anzac Day, lest we forget what a horrific thing war really is.

Check out the programme for the Auckland Writers and Readers Festival for 2013 here.

If you've read my blog on puns that I wrote a couple years back, you'll know I'm always on a quest for that Holy Grail of comedy, a truly original joke. The pun above is pretty obvious I thought, so I looked online but couldn't find a cartoon that was exactly the same angle I've gone for here, so maybe this is one step closer.

Anyway, I had so much fun drawing this last night, I just had to post it straight away. Hope you enjoy! I did.

This is a pretty well-worn pun, but I've given it a twist here for the purpose of promoting the next Social Media Club Auckland event. These are excellent events, and not just because there's free beer. Especially well worth getting along to if you are in Auckland and have a professional interest in social media. Register at this link.

Can you spot the difference?